Aviva UK Health Company Health Essentials
Aviva has launched Health Essentials for corporate customers (250+ employees), enabling them to offer simple low cost top-up cancer and physiotherapy cover to their employees.
Company Health Essentials offers health insurance targeting specific conditions, and is intended to complement care customers receive through NHS health services.
The range sits alongside Aviva’s private medical insurance plans, and aims to provide cover for all budgets and across all life stages. Launched to direct customers in early 2016, the two products that are now also available to corporate customers are:
Company Cancer Essentials:
This provides:
Up to £100,000 towards the cost of non-NHS funded cancer drugs, if recommended by the customer’s NHS specialist.
A £5,000 cash sum payable on the diagnosis of cancer, to help with immediate everyday costs.
24/7 access to a GP Helpline.
Access to phone based cancer support and advice from personal nurse advisers.
Company Physio Essentials:
This provides:
· Up to five phone consultations a year with qualified physiotherapists, providing:
- Phone access to qualified physiotherapists to monitor progress.
- Personalised online programme and phone app.
- Physiotherapy treatment with local physiotherapists if required.
· 24/7 access to a GP helpline.
· If the clinician believes the employee's condition can't be managed by physiotherapy, they will provide the employee with details of their assessment to take to their GP, who may then arrange for them to see a specialist.
Company Essentials can be selected by companies as fully funded company paid cover for all staff or groups of staff; or as part of a flexible benefit offer, either funded by the company or the employee. This gives companies the flexibility to tailor the benefit in line with their current employee offerings.
Comment: Aviva’s Health Essentials Plan is already well-established and it has now rolled out the concept for corporate customers too. From a broker’s point of view, there are only around 7K large (that is, employing over 250 people) companies in the UK, so the market is relatively limited, but the number of employees that can be covered is substantial.
The plan targets two key areas of sickness absence – cancer and physio. For cancer, it is more a top-up plan, designed to help in those areas where the NHS cannot or does not offer the help needed. By not paying for expensive and perhaps long term treatment itself, plan premiums can be set at an attractively low level and this can appeal, especially where the NHS is being used to provide the main care. Don’t underestimate the value of the support and advice service either.
Overall, this plan could appeal to many firms that want to offer insured health benefits but can’t afford PMI. Cover is selective but, increasingly, that is probably the best way forward for PMI and provides affordable solutions that meet real needs at an affordable and sustainable premium and do so by topping up rather than replacing NHS care.
Plus points: A low cost alternative to full PMI, now available to large employers; A top up rather than standalone PMI plan; Based on the established personal product; An affordable solution that helps manage sickness absence; Can be employer paid or part of a flex scheme; Could help expand the corporate PMI market.
Not so plus points: Lower cover than full cost PMI; In absolute terms, there are only around 7K large companies in the UK; Only some cancer treatment is covered; Only provides specific cancer benefits.
Website: http://www.aviva.co.uk.
Rating (max 10): Innovation: 7. Overall: 8. Gold
Tags: PMI; Aviva